The Nation Reacts to the New Immigration Reform Framework

Immigration Works USA president Tamar Jacoby said in a statement that immigration reform is a positive thing, but cautioned that it needs to create legal ways for new immigrants to enter the country.

"Finding a solution for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants already in the country addresses the mistakes of the past but fixes nothing going forward. Unless we create ways for the immigrants of the future to enter legally, we're going to find ourselves in exactly the same predicament a decade or two down the road – wondering what to do about 10 or 20 million unauthorized immigrants living among us but beyond the rule of law."

Some DREAMers decried the plan, in part because it calls for a secure border before undocumented immigrants may embark on a path to citizenship. They said the plan simply gives the appearance of a path to citizenship while in reality allowing other parts of the plan to obstruct that process.

United We Dream Network

Greisa Martinez, a DREAMer from Dallas, TX and member of United We Dream's National Coordinating Committee said in a statement that DREAMers will be watching to see how the details of the plan progress.

The time for action on immigration reform has come. Political leaders must end out-of-control detentions and deportations that have caused too much pain for our families and communities already. Neither party can afford to delay or shirk their responsibility to the American people to fix our broken immigration system and create a path to citizenship for 11 million Americans without papers. The details matter and DREAMers will be watching closely and holding Democrats and Republicans accountable.

DRM Action Coalition

The DRM Action Coalition, an organization of young undocumented immigrants, retweeted a remark from a DREAMer that said, "'Once the border is secure' undocumented can get green-cards but only by going to the back of the line – So no path to citizenship really."

The group later tweeted, "Not happy well DO SOMETHING ABOUT and let your members of Congress hear you IN PERSON! Not just over the phone…"

Erika Andiola

The high-profile DREAMer and Kyrsten Sinema staffer appeared unconvinced that the plan will lead to action in her response to a question she received on Twitter about the fact that the plan includes some preferences for DREAMers and farm workers.

The powerful labor organization praised the plan but said it is concerned with some of the details.

"Much remains to be seen on the details of that path, and each detail can have significant consequences for millions of aspiring citizens. For instance, we are concerned that making the citizenship path consistent on proof of employment at the time enforcement measures are deemed completed could be problematic," AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said in a statement. "Depending on implementation, the principles could potentially exclude millions of workers—those who care for our children and our elderly, mow our lawns and repair our homes, drive taxis--who cannot prove employment because they have been forced to work off the clock or have no employer by virtue of being independent contractors. It would also exclude immigrants who are employers themselves. We hope that this sort of acknowledgement of economic reality informs the actual bill drafting process."

Those Who Neither Endorsed Nor Rejected It

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)

A spokesman for Boehner gave a noncommittal response to the Washington Post on whether the House speaker supports the plan.

Boehner "welcomes the work of leaders like Sen. Rubio on this issue, and is looking forward to learning more about the proposal in the coming days," he told the paper.

Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Florida)

The conservative representative said in a statement that he looked forward to working with the Senate on making immigration reform a reality.

"Although we have not seen the legislation text, the principles released today are compatible with the discussions in the House. The prospect of true immigration reform can only happen with bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress, and today's news is a step in that direction. I commend the dedicated efforts of the group. We look forward to working with the Senate and President Obama to find a real, permanent solution."

Those Who Think the Framework Amounts to "Amnesty"

Numbers USA

Numbers USA, which advocates reduced immigration numbers and opposes what they call "amnesty," released a statement opposing the plan and urged people to call three members of Congress and tell them they oppose "amnesty."